Tecumseh Art Gallery Among Heritage Highway Attractions

TECUMSEH - Among attractions on the Nebraska’s Heritage Highway 136 this year is Oak Valley Paintings. Shari Grof has turned her residence at the intersection of the highway and First Street at Tecumseh into an art gallery to display the work of Manila, Iowa, painter Robin Freese. She said over 150 people stopped on the Trails of Treasurers and many were men looking at primitives and collectibles that on sale outside. [audio mp3="http://media3.floodradio.com/columbus/2017/09/Grof-art-gallery.mp3"][/audio] Grof: “We tried to coax them in here and let them know there’s an art gallery. They were like, oh, we don’t like art, but as soon as they walked in there, they would just be quiet and be mesmerized by what’s here.” Her favorites are memorials Freese did for her family, including her father Harold Raney, who passed away in December. [audio mp3="http://media3.floodradio.com/columbus/2017/09/Grof-fishing-memorial.mp3"][/audio] Grof: “There were three fishing poles that he always carried with him and Rob said those poles can’t be separated. So, for a surprise, for Christmas he gave me a fishing pole holder with an amazing picture of my dad fishing in a boat.” He also painted a landscape for a display of Grandfather Stoll in Orchard, Colo., that features his handmade riding spurs. Freese, a concrete construction worker, paints on 100-year-old roof shingles, saw blades, antique ceiling panels and car hoods and trunks. The Trail of Treasurers is scheduled Oct. 6-8 along a 238-mile span of Highway 136.
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